Air Canada to resume flights after government moves to end strike
Thousands of its flight attendants had walked off the job on Sat after months of talks over a new contract
[MONTREAL] Air Canada was planning to resume flights later on Sunday (Aug 17), a day after the government issued a directive to end a cabin crew strike that caused the suspension of around 700 daily flights, stranding more than 100,000 passengers.
Thousands of Air Canada flight attendants walked off the job on Saturday, for the first time since 1985, after months of negotiations over a new contract.
The country’s largest carrier said that flights would be restarting on Sunday evening, but some would still be cancelled over the next seven to 10 days as the schedule stabilises and returns to normal. It had started cancelling flights on Friday in anticipation of the stoppage.
The Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) ordered Air Canada to resume operations and all Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flight attendants to return to their duties by 2 pm ET (1800 GMT), the airline said in a statement.
The CIRB was acting on a directive from the country’s Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu as the government moved to end the strike and require binding arbitration to break a contract impasse, an action that Air Canada had previously sought from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s minority Liberal government but unionised flight attendants fiercely opposed.
The most contentious issue in the contract negotiations has been the union’s demand for compensation for time spent on the ground between flights and when helping passengers board. Attendants are now largely paid only when their plane is moving.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) had pushed for a negotiated solution, saying binding arbitration would take pressure off the airline.
Air Canada said on Sunday that the CIRB had ordered the terms of the collective agreement between the union and the airline that expired on Mar 31 be extended until a new agreement can be reached.
The CUPE did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
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